The Butterfly Effect
by Carmilla DeWinter
Summary: Set immediately after "A Knight's Honor": Various parties try to deal with the events. Maul/Obi slash AU.


Due to semi-popular demand, I unearthed this from the depths of my hard drive. Like all my Maul/Obi stuff, this is very much predating and ignoring most of EU, which by now has managed to turn me off the fandom entirely. I'm someone who very much dislikes revived characters, because letting people rise from the dead seems to me either, motivated by greed, or simply lazy writing.

Now, I shall get off the soapbox and present a number of ficlets set immediately after "A Knight's Honor", wherein people deal with the news - so I'm warning for copious OCs. If someone wants to take this and run with it, ask, and I shan't refuse – I've never managed to come up with decent plot past the events detailed.

Rated for language.

* * *

The Butterfly Effect

Day before the Senate hearing. Healer's Ward, Jedi Temple, Coruscant

The news still had the Temple in an uproar. A change to the Code, indeed. Healer Titrit al-Burj snorted for the umpteenth time that day. The younger ones were as confused as they were excited, and the older ones, like herself… she was angry, at least. She'd let a wonderful man go and had listened to her inner clock ticking until it was too late, all for the sake of her Order.

She'd sacrificed her time and her personal happiness on the altar of greater good – and then a snot-nosed padawan brat had decided to sleep with the enemy, and suddenly the Council changed their minds. And to think it was the same brat she'd patched up more often than not. It was not fair.

Titrit sighed and picked up a datapad. Life wasn't fair, and work didn't suddenly stop when the upper echelons went insane, so there were reports to file and treatments to be adjusted like every day.

Suddenly, the normal bustling of the corridor outside stopped, and it went deathly quiet. Someone was approaching, though, wandering towards her office. They halted and there was a knock on her door.

"Yes," she snapped.

The door whooshed open to reveal Obi-Wan Kenobi and his tattooed Sith freak. Speak of the jinn.

"Hello, Healer Titrit." Obi-Wan smiled uneasily, hovering in the doorway, as if he knew what she'd been thinking.

"What is it?"

"You didn't open my message, so we thought we'd come see you." He managed to sound entirely too unreproachful. Obviously, he had gotten the insult and decided to ignore it, whereas the Sith freak looked vaguely uncomfortable, as if he'd tried to talk Obi-Wan out of the venture.

"And what do you want?"

"Master Yoda wants Maul's wound checked, because of tomorrow… May we come in?"

Well, it didn't do to turn down the Council, so Titrit sighed yet again and dragged out her understanding healer persona. "By all means."

They came inside and 'Maul' helped himself to a chair without being invited.

"Sorry," he said at her glare. "I'm not really well at the moment." He had a nice voice, actually; it was totally at odds with his appearance.

The report had said that the Sith had been wounded, and that was what had delayed his arrival here. "Very well. Have a seat, Obi-Wan."

He plopped down next to Maul.

"So, how do I address you?" she asked the Sith.

"I am Maul," he offered.

"Good. I'm Healer Titrit, as Obi-Wan here probably told you. Are you here as an official patient?"

He exchanged a look with Obi-Wan. "Probably, yes. Why?"

"You'll have to answer some questions, because we obviously don't have a file on you yet. Also, you're entitled to healer-patient confidentiality, so Obi-Wan doesn't have to be present."

Maul shrugged. "He stays."

"Of course." She pulled up the new patient form. She'd have to modify the questions, obviously, since she wasn't dealing with a youngling here. "We start with your full name."

"Maul," he said.

She raised an eyebrow.

"That's my name. I didn't choose it." He narrowed his eyes.

"I assume 'Dark Lord of the Sith' goes as title," she said, trying to calm him.

He nodded.

"Date of birth?"

He shrugged. "I'd guess I'm between twenty four and twenty six standard years."

"You'd guess," she echoed. What was it with this boy?

"No one ever bothered to tell me," he snapped.

Shifting slightly, Obi-Wan laid a careful hand on Maul's shoulder and massaged it a little.

"Were your memories erased?" she asked.

Maul slumped. "No. He just never told me."

Oh… there was a story under all this, and it looked to be a sad story, contrary to what Titri had believed. And to boot it all, he'd been subjected to a mind reading. She'd have to tread carefully from now on. "Who is 'he'?"

"Sidious. Palaptine," he added, because her puzzlement must have been clear on her face.

"So, I guess that nixes the place of birth, as well." She smiled at him. "Do you know what race you are?"

"The MDs on Naboo ran a test. Zabrak."

"Like I am. Good." She queried his medical history next, and that went better. He volunteered most of it, including that he was on a carb-free diet and that he had a prosthetic hand, curtesy of Obi-Wan. She frowned at that.

"It's a small price to pay for freedom," he said quietly.

She blinked and decided to leave it alone. If he could live with the fact that his… lover had mutilated him, who was she to complain. Obi-Wan did look somewhat guilty, though.

"Thank you. Now about that wound… I suppose it was caused by a lightsaber?"

"Yes."

"Hm. May I see it now?"

"Of course."

She watched as he unbound the sash of his tunic. The artificial limb seemed to be in top condition; it surely looked better than anything she'd ever seen used here.

Eventually, Maul had struggled out of both the tunic and his undershirt. Obi-Wan had looked like he wanted to help a few times, but had been stopped with a glare. It was the most effective glare Titrit had ever seen on anyone, probably because he was willing to go through with his threats.

She blinked at the self adhesive foil covering. It was coming loose at the edges, obviously a day or so beyond its advised life. The report had said 'wound'. Not 'nearly cut in half'. For all intents and purposes, this boy should be still in a medic's care.

"Why didn't you come here with this immediately after your arrival here?"

"It's not bothering me," he said.

Obi-Wan made a slight noise of disagreement.

"It's healing just fine. A little discomfort was to be expected."

"I'll be the judge of that," she said, although something about the statement was off. "If I may?"

He nodded, so she went to peel the covering off. It went easily, and didn't open the wound again. The seams looked extremely good, too, there was nothing that indicated an infection. At that she probed deeper, and found herself amazed – all inner organs were in working condition, which left a good deal of other things that weren't.

"Well. Don't put any stress on these muscles. That includes letting yourself be helped to get dressed. Is that clear?" She looked him directly in the eyes, and after a long while, he ended their staring contest.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. I don't think it needs covering. Get some bacta gel from the apothecary and apply that twice a day."

"Yes."

"And I want to see you here the day after tomorrow, sixteen hundred hours."

"Yes, ma'am." He reached for his shirt.

She harrumphed.

He looked at Obi-Wan imploringly.

"Would you grant us some privacy for a moment?" Obi-Wan asked.

Titrit narrowed her eyes. "No. I won't have a guarantee that he didn't talk you into not helping him. And this will not leave my office."

Maul smirked and presented a grinning Obi-Wan with the shirt, who seemed to have some practice with this, so maybe she'd been wrong about her earlier assumption. Maybe Obi-Wan was helping Maul on a regular basis, and Maul actually resented having an audience.

Finally, Maul was tying the sash again.

"Thanks for having us," Obi-Wan said.

"You're quite welcome." Although Titrit really wasn't really sure that they were. And wait a minute… she now remembered what had bothered her earlier. "Maul?"

"Mh?"

"Why did you say discomfort _was_ to be expected?"

He blinked at her. "Because I did expect it. Obviously. Dooku was trying to kill me slowly and painfully."

"Yeah, yeah. But you made it sound as if you'd known what would happen before you ever got injured."

There was a long, indecipherable look between Maul and Obi-Wan. "Yes," he said eventually, not quite meeting her eyes.

It was Titrit's turn to blink. This was turning into the strangest day she could remember. "You did that on purpose," she concluded. "You let yourself get injured on purpose. Why?"

He shrugged. "To give Kenobi a chance to prove his point. About attachment not being dangerous."

"Oh." She'd never known anyone could inspire that much loyalty. Not even Master Yoda.

Maul shrugged again. "If that's all?"

Was this all? He'd turned everything upside down she'd ever believed in, and was this all? She felt like shouting, but she didn't. "Yes. Don't forget our appointment."

"No." He smiled. "Thank you."

And so they were off, Obi-Wan with a protective hand on Maul's back.

Titrit closed the door of her office and locked it. This was about all she could take today. She'd been so determined to be angry at Obi-Wan, and now she couldn't be. Growling, she punched the wall, then nursed her knuckles. She'd wanted to be angry, and all she'd managed was to be angry at herself. Because, in his youthful brashness, Obi-Wan had done what no Jedi with a broken heart had managed before: He'd just had the courage to place his trust in the most unlikely, and maybe most unworthy of beings, and had been proven right.

Not even she had dared to trust her dear Amir that much, not enough to believe he was this unselfish. She hadn't trusted herself, either.

The Jedi healer Titrit al-Burj curled up on her office chair and wept for the children she'd never had.

* * *

Day of the hearing. Galactic Senate, Grand Chamber, Coruscant

Obi-Wan watched. The senate building had already been crowded when they'd arrived here, but now, there probably wasn't a free spot on any of the pods. It seemed half of Coruscant and their droids had turned up to see what the Jedi had to offer in their defense.

A hush fell over the crowd when Acting Chancellor Antilles made a short introduction.

Beside Obi-Wan, Maul shifted uneasily, so he snuck an arm under Maul's cloak and drew him closer.

"I hate waiting," Maul said.

"I know. Look at the positive aspects – you'll be irked enough to give the performance of your life."

Master Windu turned to give them a dirty look.

Maul grinned. "Definitely."

They waited as Master Windu gave a short explanation about Maul's defeat, Palpatine's death and Dooku's intervention, which the audience obviously knew and didn't quite believe. "May I now present our witness."

The crowd fell silent as Maul made the few paces to the microphones, cloak billowing.

"Good morning, gentlebeings." He stopped to remove his hood. "I believe some of you might have seen me before."

There was some murmuring from quite a few pods.

"Indeed," Maul continued. "Contrary to popular opinion I am neither Palpatine's lover, nor some kind of spy. I am Maul, Dark Lord of the Sith. I am the Sith Master."

The crowd seemed to take a collective deep breath, and then everyone started chattering at once.

Maul tilted his head, and finally held up a hand. "I will answer questions later. Thank you."

Obi-Wan felt Maul's power circle like a cool wind, as compelling as it was unsettling. At least the audience shut up, some of them looking uneasy.

"I've come into my position only a short while ago. Before, I was apprenticed to a man I was to call Lord Sidious. He had found me at a young age, and trained me in the ways of the Force, because he needed some capable help in his quest to take over the galaxy. Through his machinations, he was elected Senator for his homeworld.

"He bid his time, then carefully started rumors concerning Chancellor Valorum's integrity. I manipulated some bank accounts personally. Lord Sidious also introduced the taxation bill and plotted the blockade of Naboo with the Trade Federation. The blockade was never supposed to succeed, it was merely a means to make him Supreme Chancellor.

"The Trade Federation would then be approached by a former Jedi called Dooku, who would claim to be disappointed in the Republic, and would form a separatist movement that would eventually lead to a civil war. In that time of upheaval, Lord Sidious would then declare himself emperor and destruct the Jedi order."

People shuffled as they took that in, even though Maul had left the clone troop thing out. It was just too complicated to explain in less than an hour.

"However, I had the audacity to get captured rather than killed." Then, Maul continued to summarize the events on Naboo and elsewhere, finishing with, "As of four days ago, I have agreed to a truce with the Jedi order."

Maul fingered his left wrist, where Obi-Wan knew the remains of his Padawan braid to be safely hidden from view. "Any questions?"

"How do we know you aren't just an actor?" Acting Chancellor Antilles demanded.

"Ah, yes. That is a valid concern. May I ask every pod to retreat somewhat? I am going to give a demonstration."

Their pod began to move into the center, simply because Maul wanted it to. They stopped, circled by a few camera droids.

"Shoo," Maul told them. "Or you'll get fried." He held out his right hand, and the lights seemed to dim. All around them, beings began to shuffle, and that probably was just what Maul needed.

Suddenly, there was a small electric crackle and then lightning erupted from nowhere, forming a thin column as high as the ceiling. It would have made a great show if it hadn't been so ominous.

With a turn of Maul's hand it vanished, leaving the audience rather disturbed. But there wasn't a panic, so Master Windu owed Master Yoda.

As the lights turned up again, Maul cocked his head, maybe disappointed that he didn't get any applause.

"Any more questions?"

* * *

Day of the hearing. Galactic Senate, Coruscant

Silar En'Torr couldn't remember a day when the place had been more crowded. It seemed every Senator, their aides and all of the security personnel, bar him, had brought their extended families, friends and neighbors. Swarms of news anchors and their teams hovered on the edges like vultures fighting over every scrap of information. All because the Jedi were, unofficially, on trial. Their funding was at stake.

Silar hoped they would fail spectacularly.

Listening in with his radio, he found the short guy in black to be on the microphone, babbling about a great conspiracy Chancellor Palpatine had ostensibly been part of.

Silar remembered the short guy well. He'd slipped in and out of the building like a ghost. No one ever remembered seeing him come, or go, but everyone of the staff had seen him around at least once.

Sith Lord, the guy had said. Silar frowned. Yeah right. They'd dug up Palpatine's Black Sun contact, more like, and had asked him to impersonate someone for them. The Acting Chancellor seemed to think so, too.

Silar listened to the 'demonstration', that sounded like a bunch of static. It must have looked pretty impressive, though. Senator Orn Free Tah demanded an explanation, and the supposed Sith called it Force Lightning. He also said it was very painful.

Anyhow, people had found a number of holes in his earlier statement, and began to ask questions, and very slowly, the truth began to emerge. Apparently, the guy hadn't had a nice childhood, which would explain his looks. And he couldn't present any formal identification. "I have an ID chip somewhere that names me Khameir Sarin," he said. "It's fake. I've had a number of fake IDs over the years."

The guy did not exist, in other words, other than the fact that he was indubitably there.

People had more questions about his stay on Naboo, where the guy had apparently been put under the care of a padawan, and had been grounded in a guest room.

"Excuse me…," a young male voice said. Silar didn't recognize it. "Aide Bail Organa, for Alderaan. I poked around a little, and I found the Theed Palace Guards' report on the incident with Master Dooku. It says here that you were found in the garden. What were you doing in the garden when you were ostensibly grounded in a guest suite?"

Now that was an interesting tidbit.

"Sparring," the Sith said with a little hesitation. "Knight Kenobi smuggled me out for some sparring."

There was an excited murmur. Jedi breaking rules were unheard of. Back then, Adi had said that they were pretty strict on things like that, so Silar wondered what had been done to punish the knight. Not that he pitied the kid.

"Ah. That's a major offense, isn't it?" That Organa boy was bright. He'd probably have a stellar career. "Why would he do that for a mere prisoner?"

There was a lengthy pause. "We had… moved beyond that concern a few days earlier."

Silar whistled under his breath. The Jedi were in very deep shit now. They would have been better off if they hadn't brought the guy.

"You were sleeping with him," Organa translated dumbly.

The rest of the Senate breathed silence.

"Am," the Sith guy corrected, in a much lighter tone. "We've been… official," you could practically hear the raised eyebrow, "for a tenday now."

What the…? Silar blinked. This was a joke, right. Ten years ago, Adi had ever so politely told him to fuck off, because she wasn't allowed to give it a try even if she wanted to. And now she sat in the same pod as a guy who claimed to be in an official couple, with a Jedi.

The clamoring in the Senate told Silar that the rest of the audience shared his sentiments. It just didn't make sense.

Eventually, the Acting Cancellor demanded silence and was granted it, albeit reluctantly.

"If I may…," Master Windu's voice spoke up. "Due to certain events the Council has decided on a trial period for a change to the Jedi code. We will offer more detail on a press conference later." This bore no objections. At least there was a promise of info, something the Jedi rarely bothered with.

"Very well, then," the Acting Chancellor said. "You have made your case. This will go to the Jedi relation committee. They may want to question any of the concerned parties, and I do hope those will follow the invitation." Or else, the statement said. "I'm awaiting the results of the inquiry in a tenday. This session is now closed."

The media would be on the Jedi like flies on a dead body if the Guard weren't careful. It would be bad publicity if someone got hurt, even accidentally. Silar began to jog down the hall, barking orders into his radio. "Units three, four and six to the Jedi. Everyone else, see to it that people use their respective exits. There'll be one hour overtime for everyone per stray. Understood?" A sweet choir of yessir's reached his ears. Good.

He dodged the emerging crowds and was at the Jedi pod landing within two minutes.

The doors were still shut, Silar's men trying their best to keep away people from the neighboring pods.

Silar nodded at everyone – they were doing a good job under the circumstances – and pressed his way through to the door. There, he knocked.

After a minute, the door opened, and Adi, of all people, peeked out.

"Oh, hello, Silar." She smiled at him.

His stomach did a small lurch. She hadn't forgotten his name. "Hello, Adi. It should be safe to come out. We have the hallways cordoned off," or at least the voices on his radio told him so. The crowd behaved, for now.

"Oh, good. Maul offered cover, but he shouldn't be putting such a strain on himself just yet. Wait a minute, I'll tell the others."

The door was shut again. Silar really didn't want to know what kind of cover this Maul had offered.

A near eternity later, Adi slipped out. "Everything still clear?"

"Yes. I do know my job, you know."

"I never had a doubt about that," she said, and smiled again. "Will you accept this?" She held out a small slip of paper.

He took it. It was a piece of a napkin, actually, with a messaging address scribbled on it. Had she asked her friends to stay behind to buy some private time?

"I'm free tomorrow evening," she said apropos of nothing.

He groaned. "Don't do this to me, Adi." He'd thought he was over her, really he had. But here she was, as beautiful as ever, with that pleading look in her brown eyes.

"I'm sorry." She crossed her arms. "For everything. I didn't mean to hurt you. You don't have to call me."

"Adi…" He was tempted to let her suffer just like she had made him suffer. And yet who was he to deny a goddess? "I'll think about it."

She nodded, jaw set, and went to knock a pattern on the door. The rest of the party filed out, the Kenobi kid with a supporting arm around the Sith guy, and off they were on their way to the exit.

Miraculously, no one bothered them, but in the end, the staff worked overtime anyway to see the stragglers and gossipers and journalists out, and when Silar finally was home, he wasn't able to relax.

In the end, he called his sister for advice. Because he really had no idea where to take a Jedi Councilor on her first date.

* * *

Day of the hearing, nondescript apartment building, Unity Arch District, Coruscant

A blue hand stopped on its way to pick up an equally blue drink when the being on the news removed its hood. This just wasn't possible.

The Twi'Lek only known by the name Moon gaped at her vid screen. It was him. She'd been there when they'd cleaned up on Ralltiir, and what little surveillance cubes had survived left no doubt about it.

That monster speaking in the Senate, on the invitation of the Jedi, no less, had evaded the best security of the galaxy, had evaded her and had wiped out her best employers. Letting your employers be killed was never a good idea in her business, so now her name was mud, while the monster was prancing around in the limelight as if he hadn't done anything wrong.

Moon narrowed her eyes. She'd bet her speeder that the guy there had more blood on his hands than Jango Fett and Aurra Sing combined.

She shook her head and tore her eyes from the screen long enough to mute the speakers and hack a number into her .

After a few seconds, a gruff male voice came over the speakers. "Yeah?"

"Hello, Merhyn", Moon said.

"I told you not to call me anymore." She could almost see his frown.

"I know… but are you watching what I'm watching?"

"Senate hearing?"

"Indeed. It's him."

"What?"

"The guy who claims to be a Sith. Lord Maul. He killed Alexi."

There were a few seconds of silence. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. You have the cubes I brought you? He's on there."

"Okay… I'll have a look. Begs the question what you want for that tip?"

"Nothing much. You take me off the black list and let me do him in." Her honor as a merc was at stake here, after all. "You'll get a discount."

"What kind of discount are we talking about?"

"Half the usual."

"Hmm." He appeared to be thinking about it. "Good. That's reasonable enough. I'll get a look at those cubes and if I think it's him, you have the job. But I won't pay you up front. Not after that debacle."

"Of course, Merhyn." It was better than she'd hoped – she'd at least expected to be talked down into a third of the usual, or even having the usual questioned.

"I'll get back to you in an hour", he said and the line went dead.

Moon relaxed back into her couch, took a sip of her drink and grinned. Life was good.

* * *

Day of the hearing, Kenobi residence, Ord Mantell

Everyone was there. At first, she'd been so proud to know that her son would be on the news, but now, Malena Kenobi looked at her crowded living room, and felt a little uneasy.

It had snowballed, really. But she'd been so glad to hear his voice three days ago – with all the rumors and the trouble with the Senate, she'd been dying to have him back from that mission on Naboo – and to hear that he was alright, and would actually be knighted the next day. She'd told everyone. With the result that not only her younger son and his girlfriend, but also her neighbor Eleni and her two teenaged children were here to watch this, with the notable exception of the knight's not-so-proud father, who hadn't been able to get out of an important meeting at that short notice, or so he'd said.

Cee-Four was busy serving drinks and pastries while the pretty Twi'lek who was SenCam's excuse for an anchor did a little introduction. Finally the camera switched to the Grand Chamber, showing the Acting Chancellor climbing into his pod.

After the senate had been called to silence and into session, the room around Malena went quiet, too.

They listened to Antilles doing his bit, and then to Mace Windu. Obi-Wan was indeed on the pod, in the back, next to a regal black woman in an elaborate headdress, and talking quietly to a shorter being hidden under a hood. Malena supposed this was the mystery witness everyone had been talking about.

Finally, Windu was done and the being ambled forwards. "Good evening, gentlebeings," a deep, male voice said. Then the being lifted his hood, and made everyone gasp. From a mask of jagged black and red two unearthly yellow eyes glowed. Young children would have nightmares from looking at it. Malena would have nightmares.

It… he continued a little, claiming to be Dark Lord of the Sith, detailing a brilliant plan for taking over the galaxy, and then how it had been foiled, thanks to her Obi-Wan.

The Sith was accused of impersonation, and called lightning into the Senate.

The children were impressed, but Eleni shushed them. "Something like that shouldn't be allowed to run around freely," she said. "Nobody would even realize when it was controlling other people's minds."

The senators seemed to share her opinion; a barrage of questions followed, some rather impertinent, but the Sith did make an effort to answer them all.

"He," Malena corrected after the fifth or so question. "Not it."

This wasn't a demon standing there on that pod, dragging out obviously painful memories. The Jedi had apparently planned on making him have a therapy rather than simply imprisoning him, and Malena huffed her agreement. Power over lightning or not, the young man needed help, even if only half of his story was true. She was itching to get her fingers on him herself, though she'd probably fail, more used to upper class housewives' neuroses than anything else. None of her clients were dangerous criminals.

And then an aide piped up. "What were you doing in the garden when you were ostensibly grounded in a guest suite?"

"Sparring," the Sith said with a little hesitation. "Knight Kenobi smuggled me out for some sparring."

Malena bit her knuckles. Her Obi-Wan had broken rules, and all the world knew now. Oh gods… why hadn't he said anything? He'd said there were news, yes, things that would be disclosed in the hearing, a bit of a surprise, yes, but essentially harmless. Harmless. Hah. She'd give him harmless as soon as she would be able to contact him. At least it hadn't stopped them from knighting him, so apparently, it wasn't too bad.

The aide wasn't satisfied and picked at the issue further.

The Sith blinked and turned around to exchange a look with Windu, who nodded. Malena knew she'd draw blood if he didn't say something soon. There was another, and much bigger bomb to drop, obviously.

"We had… moved beyond that concern a few days earlier," the Sith said.

This couldn't mean what Malena thought it meant. And yet, the Sith confirmed the aide's supposition with a smug smile on his face.

While the session dissolved into noisy chaos, her living room was eerily silent, and everyone was looking at her.

Malena's older son was gay, and he was sleeping with the tattooed freak on the news, and all she could do was feel hollow. It had been better when she'd known that he would never marry and give her grandchildren because of the Jedi rules, somehow. It had hurt to give him away, knowing that he'd never have the chance to experience something so essential to most humans, but it didn't do to refuse the Jedi, and she'd come to accept it.

While Antilles called for silence, the Sith retreated back to Obi-Wan, who promptly slung an arm around his waist. The Sith leaned into him and closed his eyes, seemingly exhausted. Obi-Wan had the classic 'worried Kenobi' expression on his face and said something to the Sith, which was graced with an obviously deadpan comeback, because Obi-Wan grinned and placed a kiss on the Sith's bald head. Apparently, the camera operator was then done with intruding on them and swept the thing around to prove that Antilles' efforts were being successful after all.

Windu announced a possible change to the Jedi code, the session was closed, and then the ditzy Twi'lek was back to deliver her opinion on everything.

Malena picked up the remote and shut off the screen. The others were still staring at her, and Eleni went so far as to clear her throat.

What was Malena to say? Homosexuals didn't happen in this neighborhood. Interracial couples didn't happen, either. Both things were reserved for lower beings with antisocial tendencies.

And here Obi-Wan, savior of the Republic, had a Zabrakian boyfriend. Somehow, it served them right, each of them. Obi-Wan had been so excited when he'd first called them, and then Chan had blown a gasket at hearing that his son's best friend was a Mon Calamari girl.

Malena had apologized to Obi, of course, but he'd cooled down a lot towards them after that. He called dutifully for everyone's birthdays, but he never talked much, keeping a lot to himself. It was only logical that they'd be the last to know about this, to have them cringe under their neighbors' scrutiny at having produced such an aberration, without any kind of warning.

"Well," she said, and it came out breezily, as if she weren't boiling with anger inside. "He wanted it to be a surprise."

"But, mum…" Tyo, her other son, protested weakly. "That's just a bit much, to hear something like that on the news." His girlfriend made a noise that echoed the sentiment.

"Yes," Malena snapped. "That was the intention, I believe. You and your father aren't entirely without blame, there."

Eleni cleared her throat again. "Well. Such a shock should first be discussed with the family. I hope you'll find a suitable solution to this problem. Chem? Torun? We're leaving."

The kids climbed to their feet, looking rather uneasy, obviously unsure about what to think.

"Eleni?" Malena was surprised at the venom in her voice.

"Yes?" Eleni looked at her with big, innocent eyes.

"This is my son, not a problem. Do you understand?"

Eleni blinked, no, obviously, she didn't. "Of course." She smiled sweetly.

"I'll see you out," Malena said.

They were in time to see Chan's speeder pull into the driveway. The expression on his face told Malena that he'd gotten at least part of the news, and it was only right that Eleni was intimidated enough to flee without the usual pleasantries.

Malena squared her shoulders and steeled herself for the shouting match of her life.

* * *

Day of the hearing. The as-Sarin residence, Iridonia

Malik ben Khadir as-Sarin really, really hated crying women. He was never able to refuse his wife or his daughters or even his daughter-in-law when they started the waterworks. But at least, he could decipher a reason for it then. Now, however, it was the middle of the night, his wife had been sobbing into his pajamas for ten minutes straight, and he had absolutely no clue why.

He'd ceased to make comforting noises a while back, because it didn't seem to help at all.

Staring at the dark ceiling, he waited until the noise finally died down to sniffles.

"There, there," he said. "Will you tell me now what's up?"

Slowly, she disentangled herself and propped herself up on her elbows. Her yellow eyes glowed in the darkness with something he hadn't seen in years. Hope, he thought.

"It's Khameir," she said.

"What?" She so rarely spoke about their lost son, trying to avoid his name at all costs.

"I… I couldn't sleep, so I went and watched that Senate hearing everyone was so excited about. And there he was."

In the Galactic Senate. Oh dear. She was seeing things, definitely. "He'd be twenty-four now. I doubt I'd recognize him if I met him on the street."

"How many bald, yellow eyed Zabraks are there of that age?" she demanded angrily.

"Quite a few?"

"And how many ever make it off this planet?"

"Not so many," he admitted.

"So, what's the likelihood of a boy fitting Khameir's description appearing as a witness for the Jedi order in the Senate, claiming to be a Sith, having been taken from his home at a young age, and giving 'Khameir Sarin' as his alias?"

"A Sith?" A few weeks ago, the Jedi had claimed their old archenemies weren't quite as extinct as they'd thought. They'd also claimed to have captured one of the two, and having killed the other, Palpatine, who also happened to be Chancellor. And Malik's son was supposed to be the one they had captured?

"Yes. That's what he said. He's tattooed all over, looks like a jinn, really. And he's got a Jedi boyfriend."

"Hold on." Malik breathed a few times. "I need to see what you're talking about." If the Jedi had really produced a Sith for the hearing, it would be all over the net for days. Malik climbed out of bed and padded down the stairs to their vid screen.

Flipping channels, he found CoreNews delivering a report on the matter, and yes, there was the kid Raniyya thought to be Khameir. Any family likeness that might have existed was obliterated by the tattoo, of course, but the voice sounded vaguely familiar.

There was a human psychologist who argued that the boy was most likely sincere, and a Zabrakian sociologist who said that he wasn't.

"But if what he says is true, he's never had the chance to adopt Zabrakian body language," the psychologist finally protested, exasperated.

Well, that was the news for you. Everything got talked to near death, but in Malik's case, he actually found it useful for once, since they replayed the important parts of the hearing.

Eventually, the psychologist, the sociologist and their host agreed to disagree and tore at the little display of tenderness the Sith and that Jedi boy had offered. At least here they agreed that it was most likely for real.

Malik turned the screen off. Then he grabbed a cushion to steady his trembling hands. For some reason, he had no doubt that the story was true and that, maybe, there were many more disturbing facts that boy hadn't told anyone, having brushed over details whenever possible. How could anyone do this to any child? And to think the boy came out halfway sane. It was a miracle.

Eventually, he drew a deep breath. "It's fifty-fifty, I think," he told Rani, who was hovering behind him. He didn't want to get his hopes up, after all these years. "We'll have to discuss this with mother in the morning. I'll suggest contacting Senator Shahin. She'll be able to approach the boy and ask for a test."

"Good." Rani plopped down next to him, and he bent to kiss her brow. "Fifty-fifty, Malik?" she asked after a while.

"Please… I just can't summon up that much faith, not after all this time."

She sighed. "You're right. But," she made a helpless gesture with her hand.

"I know. I know." It was too good to be true.

"What do you think he's like? He seemed nice enough. And that boyfriend of his, too."

Oh, Malik had feared something like this. She was in for a heartbreak, he knew it. "I couldn't begin to guess, Rani, especially since we have no proof that this is actually Khameir. And you did listen to everything he said, didn't you? About how he grew up? There's no telling how damaged he is."

"Oh! What is it with you? You don't want Khameir back, do you? You're afraid of the trouble he'd be." She rose and was out, slamming the door.

It looked like Malik was going to spend the remainder of the night on the couch. Following her when she was in one of her moods really was no use, he knew that. And yet…

Sighing, he trudged up the stairs and knocked on the bedroom door. An ominous silence was his only answer.

"Rani…," he tried. "I'm sorry. I know I'm a coward. But please… I'm not afraid of the trouble; he can't possibly be worse than Rafi. I'm just afraid that he'll hate us for not taking better care of him, or for some other reason won't even agree to be tested, or that it's not him, after all."

She opened the door for him and stood there, arms akimbo. "Don't you think I'm afraid of the same things? It's a fool's hope, I know," she poked his chest with a finger, "but I can't not hope and you talking me down wasn't helping."

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

She sniffed and retreated from the doorway to let him in. "Sometimes I have no idea why I married you, I swear."

"Your mother conned you into it because she couldn't take your temper anymore?"

It was an old joke, but it worked. She offered him the tiniest of smiles. "I'm sorry."

"No need." He moved in to kiss her. "I'm sorry for being such a worrywart."

"Hmm. Shut up, will you?"

* * *

Two days after the hearing. Senator Shahin's office, Galactic Senate building, Coruscant

Tress Shahin shuffled around a few datapads and flimsies on her desk. Until two tendays ago, she'd been absolutely delighted to be on the Jedi relation committee. She'd always been interested in their philosophy, up to the point that she'd done her thesis about it – and it was much less time consuming than other committees.

Then the Jedi had killed Chancellor Palpatine, and all hell broke loose.

She really didn't know what to think. The Jedi's points were as sensible as ever, provided one believed in the existence of the Sith – something the Jedi had denied for centuries.

All of yesterday had been spent on deciding on a suitable course of action for the committee, while the Jedi were busy talking to the news agents about the change to their code.

And then Tress had gotten that message from an old woman in a backwater town of her home planet, with a police file attached. "We have reason to believe that Lord Maul is my grandson," the woman had said.

Tress had been intrigued despite herself – already several people had called the news channels claiming Lord Maul as their family. None had bothered to contact a Senator, though, and none actually had any hard evidence. Like a gene scan from a one year old boy who had vanished twenty three years ago.

So she'd appealed to her committee on postponing their next meeting, and had called the Temple, where Lord Maul had answered her request friendly enough.

Yes, he'd come to see her. If she'd have Jedi Kenobi as well?

She'd agreed. Obviously, his supposed family wasn't in the least concerned that he had a Jedi boyfriend – Tress still had trouble wrapping her mind around that concept, and to top it all, her aide Havva had told her the Senate Chief of Security had been seen getting awfully friendly with Master Adi Gallia yesterday evening at Morgan's Restaurant – so Tress supposed she could get over the vague unease that always befell her in the presence of homosexuals.

Eventually, Havva knocked and announced that they were here, so Tress rose to greet them. "Lord Maul, Knight Kenobi. Thanks for coming here at such short notice."

Lord Maul shrugged. He'd done that a few times during the hearing as well.

"Thank you for having us," Kenobi said. "We were actually surprised we weren't summoned yesterday."

"Yes. This matter here might as well put a different spin on the entire affair."

Lord Maul raised an eyebrow. "Now you only have to actually disclose this 'matter of great delicacy and import'," he quoted her.

Not the socializing type, were we. "I was getting to that. Have a seat. Would you like a drink?"

They both declined, which was just as well. Tress shooed Havva out with a wave of her hand and went to pick up the datapad with the file.

"Yesterday evening, I received a message from Khadija as-Sarin. She's the Shakh as-Sarin of Ksar Bintaan on Iridonia."

She received politely puzzled looks from them.

"That means she is the oldest person of that surname in the town. She's the one to make difficult decisions and acts as a spokesperson for the family as-Sarin."

"And?"

"You will note that this is the same surname one of your aliases has."

Lord Maul nodded, and seemed to have a vague idea what she was about to tell him. "Go on."

"As it happens, one of her grandchildren, of a description that could fit you, went missing twenty three years ago."

He blinked. "She thinks I am that kid." There was no hint as to what he was actually feeling about this.

Kenobi shifted in his armchair and made the leather creak.

"Possibly." Tress picked at her suit. "She has also sent me the file on the police case from back then. There was a genetic scan done when a child's skeleton was found in the desert, a short time after the incident. The test came up negative, but the results are still here, obviously. Shakh as-Sarin pleads you to take a test to see if you are who she thinks you are."

Lord Maul blinked again. From repeatedly watching the footage of the hearing, it seemed that it was his trademark response when he was at a loss.

"Maul…," Kenobi finally said and reached out to massage his boyfriend's shoulder. "Come on. At least think about it?"

"What do you think I was doing just now?" Lord Maul hissed back.

Kenobi sighed. "Sorry." After a short glance at Tress, he continued, "you looked like you were about to panic."

"Right. Thank you. I am minus one Force inhibitor, if you'd kindly remember."

With another sigh, Kenobi sat very straight, closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Lord Maul looked at him with a half exasperated, half indulgent expression that said he knew what Kenobi was about to do. Tress leaned back to enjoy the show. The Jedi model couple fighting. Who would have thought. It was rather endearing.

"First, I'm well aware that you destroyed the inhibitor," Kenobi began. "And second, I would very much thank you not to take that panic you're not having out on me."

After a second of a blank look, Lord Maul broke into a grin. "No." He shook his head, sobered up and addressed Tress. "A medic on Naboo ran a test on me. It should do. Would you send me both the Sarin test results and their address, Senator Shahin?"

Well, apparently, he had some manners left. Tress handed him the datapad. "Everything important is here. Keep it, and let me know the outcome. Corroborating evidence to your story would make my work a lot easier."

"Not to mention the Jedi wouldn't have to fear for their funding." He nodded, took the pad and let it vanish somewhere inside the many layers of his black robes. "Thank you."

Kenobi rose and gave Lord Maul a hand up. The Sith winced, rubbed his left side and eyed the low armchair balefully.

"Are you alright?" Tress asked.

"As well as can be expected," Lord Maul said. "There are a few healers who'd prefer me in the medbay."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "Getting on the wrong end of a lightsaber does that. No need to worry."

"Of course." It was typical male posturing, that, and it left her somewhat relieved.

"Quit bragging," Kenobi said. "Thanks for mediating, Senator Shahin."

"You're quite welcome." And she actually meant it, too. Kenobi had charm enough for them both, that was for sure, and Lord Maul was nice enough once you learned to brush off his attitude.

Tress saw them out and retreated into her office. Only seconds later, there was a knock.

"Ma'am? If you want to see something really cute, you need to come out here," Havva said.

Sighing, Tress stood up to see what was up.

Just outside the mirrored glass doors, Lord Maul and Kenobi were standing close together, Kenobi with his arms around the Sith Lord's shoulders, nearly hiding him inside his dark brown cloak, and nuzzling his lover's forehead. It was easy to see why Havva would think it cute. Obviously she hadn't realized that Lord Maul was trembling like he'd just narrowly escaped death. Had Tress's announcement done that to him? He'd seemed so together after his little spat with Kenobi.

It put everything in a new light yet again. Some in the committee had argued that Maul appeared much too sane for his story, and she'd had half a mind to go with that opinion. And yet… she wondered how he'd do without his Knight in shining armor. Not so good, probably.

Eventually, they walked off and Tress returned to her office to compose a message to her fellow politicians.

* * *

Two days after the hearing, Jedi Temple, Coruscant

Maul sat cross-legged on the bed he shared with Kenobi and stared at the wall. Sometimes, he wished they were back on Naboo, when all that had mattered was how to escape Panaka's notice and what the next meal would be. Easy. Simple.

Freedom had eaten the simplicity, and Maul didn't like it. He was out of the hidey-hole Sidious had so carefully crafted for him, all thanks to a spur-of-the-moment decision. Just to make the Jedi relent. Strange how that longing for freedom back then had first turned into confusion and, now, into fear.

At least Master Windu had, on Healer Titrit's insistence, prolonged their stay here for a while. Maul knew he was in no shape to go apartment hunting, not after that questioning and especially not after today. He'd handed the datapad over to Kenobi as soon as he was able to, telling him to do as he saw fit. He wasn't up to facing this just yet.

Thus Kenobi had left him here to brood, just a little exasperated, and had threatened to appeal to Healer Titrit for some antidepressants.

Maul hadn't protested, knowing it would only irk Kenobi more, but he was equally sure that he didn't want to take drugs for this. Going to the Senate had been a bad decision, in hindsight; it had made him think about far too many things he'd hoped he'd forgotten. He was just lucky none of them had asked outright what else he had done for Sidious.

Wouldn't Sidious just love this? Maul could imagine that smirk, and what he'd say… _what now, my apprentice? Cowering here in fear of this big bad world? You were not fit to take over, I realize…_

But Maul had. He was Maul, Dark Lord of the Sith. He was the biggest fish in the pond now that Lord Sidious was dead. There was no reason to give in to his fear anymore.

After an hour or so, Kenobi returned, sitting next to him and leaning in for a long, luxurious kiss, reminding Maul why, exactly, he was doing this.

"Hey," Maul offered as an afterthought.

"Hey." Kenobi smiled at him. "2M just called back. Do you want to know what he said?"

Maul breathed. "Yes." If he didn't, he'd just live in fear of the results.

Kenobi gave him a wide grin. "Good. Good to see you out of your funk."

Maul bared his teeth at him. "So?"

With a deep breath, Kenobi adopted a mock-official air. "Congratulations. It's a family." He held out his hand for Maul to shake.

It wasn't a surprise, really. Sidious had suggested most of Maul's aliases, and it was just like him to hide something like that in plain sight.

"You could make an effort to look happy," Kenobi told him.

Hah. "Why should I? Whoever that kid was, there's nothing left of him."

Kenobi squeezed his hands. "What are you going to do about it?"

It figured that Kenobi would pester him about this right away. Maul freed his hands. "I probably should send them a message."

"For the sake of their sanity, yes. The same goes for Senator Shahin. But, do you want to?"

Maul shrugged. "I don't know."

"You don't," Kenobi translated. "Why? What's so bad about contacting them?"

With a hand on Kenobi's mouth, Maul stopped the lecture. "I said, I don't know. There's nothing bad about it, per se, but there are things to consider. I'm not exactly a son they can brag about. They'd also get dragged into this whole affair. It's difficult."

"It's nice to see that you have some protective instincts." Kenobi grinned.

"Letting myself be grilled by the Senate counts for nothing, hm?"

"Sorry." Kenobi reached out to trace the scar under Maul's tunic. "I know it's not that funny."

Actually, it was the kind of sick joke Maul suspected the Force to be having at their expense. "As far as I am concerned, we're even. Please don't go Romance vid on me."

"Sure. Right. So. Look, it's nice to see you concerned about them, but they tried to contact you despite the whole media circus. They must have at least a vague idea of what they'll be facing. Why don't you leave the decision to them?"

"Hmm. I got that far, too. I just don't know how to go about that." Maul had never needed to write a personal letter before, had never gotten one and had no idea whether he would accidentally violate some social standard.

Kenobi grinned at him. "You're the 'budding artist', right? Get creative."

"Sometimes, I wonder why you're still allowed to call yourself a Jedi."

Kenobi grabbed a pillow and flung it at him.


End file.
